Emails with Client

[bay]

To those of you who are conducting some or more of your business online by answering client questions via e-mail or transmitting organizers or copies of tax returns via the internet - I have a question in regards to security.

When you transmitt an organizer or a client tax return via the internet do you use any type of incryption? Do you use the feature in Adobe to incrypt a "pdf" file?

any comments or suggestions would be appreciated and I hope that eveyone on this board has a great 08 season

thank you in advance

[MAMalody]

I use the password protection through Adobe and am in the process of checking out the encryption.

[Maribeth]

We have started using a service called CPASecure. It is a secure site (doesn't have www in front of it). We set up our clients with their own account on the site. They upload their QB files, spreadsheets, whatever; I get a confirming email that they have done so; and I download their information. We now use emails for only non-confidential information.

Their link is just cpasecure.com. The price is $9.99 a month.

Maribeth

[johnmac]

One comment Maribeth; the absence of www does not indicate a secure site. One way to check a site's security, or lack of, is via the url. If the url begins with HTTPS: and your browser's security indicator is activated is the most reliable indication. One precaution tho, you must remember that anything man or machine encrypt can be de-encrypted by man or machine.

One suggestion for those of you that send the organizers via email is to suppress the printing of SSNs. This is done via preferences/privacy, clicking the box and applying the change.

johnmac

[Maribeth]

One comment Maribeth; the absence of www does not indicate a secure site. One way to check a site's security, or lack of, is via the url. If the url begins with HTTPS: and your browser's security indicator is activated is the most reliable indication. One precaution tho, you must remember that anything man or machine encrypt can be de-encrypted by man or machine.

One suggestion for those of you that send the organizers via email is to suppress the printing of SSNs. This is done via preferences/privacy, clicking the box and applying the change.

johnmac

Yes, John, the full address is http://cpasecure.com. We have suppressed the ssn printing on the organizers since that option became available.

Maribeth

[johnmac]

Maribeth,

I just finished looking at cpasecure. It looks like a reputable site and they have taken what I think is a reasonable approach to security... paranoia.

johmnac

[bay]

Maribeth,

How long have you been using the cpa secure site for? any problems? do you use it just for your business clients or do you use it for your individual clients also?

thanks

Mike

[Maribeth]

We have been using it since about May of this year. The only problems I have had is that sometimes it is a bit slow but I believe that might be because it is so secure. We are using it for all confidential information whether it is business or individual clients -- information that you would not want to send through an email.

Maribeth

[JohnH]

I signed up for CPASecure based on your recomendation.

I've been using Xdrive for several years, which works pretty good, but some receint developments have me concerned about its long-term viability so I've been looking for an alternative. I'll try to post additional comments about CPASecure on this forum once I've kicked the tires a little.

[JohnH]

One downside I'll note about CPASecure. If you sign up for a year's service and pay them in advance, their terms of service lock you into an automatic renewal in the following years unless you give them 30 days ADVANCE notice. Let that 30 days get by you and they will hit your credit card for another year's service. Then if you cancel they will refuse to refund your money, even on a pro-rata basis. They're not the only company out there with a policy of this sort, but I sure don't appreciate their business practices.